


one, two and little kid makes three

by trickztr



Category: Orgulho e Paixão (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake Marriage, Kid Fic, M/M, Short One Shot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 06:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16342031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickztr/pseuds/trickztr
Summary: Otávio grew up in a home for children at risk. As soon as he was of legal age to leave, he promised himself he'd adopt a child as soon as he could. He knows all too well what growing up in the system is like, so when he got the call from the social assistent that an older child was available and he was next line for the adoption, he jumped at the opportunity!Except. Well, except the last time he spoke with the social assistant he was engaged to Lidia. Afraid his current ~singleness would affect the positive outcome of the adoption process, he asked Luccino to pretend to be his fiance.





	one, two and little kid makes three

**Author's Note:**

> Part I of a longer, non-linear series. Luccino and Otávio meet Vitor.

Luccino isn’t sure how he’s supposed to behave right now. In all honesty, he assumed they’d just roll up to the shelter, talk to the case worker for a while and then take Vitor to Otávio’s house. That would be it.

 

But here he is now. Standing in the hallway, watching the little guy draw with a focus so intense, he’s itching to see that picture. 

 

Andrea, the social assistant, tells them the strict rules they must abide to before stepping to the room to talk to their son. They’re not allowed to touch him in any way. They can’t make promises or speak to him in terms of ‘future plans’ - it’s  _essential_  they don’t give the kid any expectations. They’re not allowed to call him ‘son’ or encourage him to call them ‘dad’.

 

They can - and should - ask simple questions. Get to know Vitor and take an interest in him. Answer questions only to a certain degree. Build a rapport, but keep things fairly casual.

 

“Try not to confuse him too much,” she tells them, in her efficient, fast-paced tone. “Don’t lie to him by telling him you’re just friends, but don’t understimate his intuitiveness. Even he won’t understand you’re an item, he’ll know you’re not just friends.”

 

Luccino frowns at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

She smiles briefly at him and makes a vague gesture with her hand. “No judgement here, trust me. Love is love, am I right? But there’s no need to confuse the children. He’ll know, but he’s too young to understand. Let’s just see how this goes, okay?”

 

“Liste–” but he falls silent when Otávio discreetly touches his arm.

 

“It’s fine, ma’am.” Otávio says, with a polite smile firmly placed on his lips. “We’ll try not to disrupt him too much.”

 

“Just be yourselves,” she advises them. “He’s been interviewed by twelve couples in the last two years. He’s gotten pretty good at smelling bullshit a mile away at this point.”

 

“Won’t be a problem,” Luccino replies, humorlessly. He fidgets with the ring on his finger. Still feels odd and out of place, but he squares his shoulder and cocks his head towards the door. “Can we go in?”

 

Andrea scribbles something down on her clipboard. “Is it four-thirty yet?”

 

“It’s five past five.” Otávio replies.

 

“Oh! Well, okay, then. Time really flew by. Unfortunately we can’t extend the visiting hour, you know? The kids have a very strict social structure. But these screenings will get easier over time, I promise. Assuming there’ll be other visits, of course.”

 

Luccino takes Otávio’s hand. “Come on, no more time to waste.”

 

As soon as the door opens, Vitor looks up, his round brown eyes seeming even bigger behind those gigantic glasses.

 

“Hi,” he says. It’s not enthusiatic, but it’s not annoyed either. Probably somewhere between ‘i’m told I must do this’ and genuine curiosity. Vitor turns his attention back to his drawing, but now he’s running his eraser over a large area on that paper. Pink shavings coat the desk.

 

“Hey, buddy. How are you?” Otávio says, crouching down to his level. “That’s a nice picture you got there! Who are these?”

 

Vitor turns to him, thick, dark eyebrows knitting together. “That’s Batman. Don’t you know Batman?”

 

“Right!” Otávio slaps his own forehead. “Stupid me. I didn’t recognize him with the red the blue cape, but you know what? Definitely him. And this one? Wonder Woman?”

 

Vitor laughs. It’s a high-pitched, rich sound and it fills the room. Luccino can’t help but smile.

 

“That’s Catwoman!” He points at something on the paper. “See? These are her ears. Pointy.”

 

Otávio takes his hands up to his head, using his index fingers as horns. “Pointy. Obviously.”

 

Vitor leans over the desk, his bony elbows supporting his weight. He fixes Luccino with an intrigued look. “My friend Enzo from school has a bracelet like yours.”

 

Luccino looks down at his right wrist. “Oh. That’s cool. Thank you!”

 

“For what?”

 

“Uh… noticing?”

 

“It’s red. I can see it all the way from here. I see it a lot. Enzo sits all the way across the classroom, but he’s always waving his arms around and throwing things, and I can also

see his bracelet from that far. It’s really bright.”

 

“Oh.” Not sure what else to do, Luccino grabs a chair and sits near the door. Watching Otávio interact with his (possibly, maybe,  _hopefully_ ) soon-to-be son is fascinating. Not for the last time, he’s mildly annoyed they took their phones as soon as they stepped in the hallway. He’d like a picture of this moment.

 

“Why don’t you come closer, dear?” Otávio asks him, eyes pleading. 

 

Right. Of course. They’re supposed to be doing this together. Hopefully he hasn’t risen any suspicions. 

 

He places his chair across from Otávio, on Vitor’s other side. The little boy soon settles on his seat again and pulls his drawing more to his left, near Luccino. 

 

“I don’t have black pencils,” he starts, serious, as if explaining a crucial detail of a work in progress. “They only gave me these, but they’re  _writing_  pencils. They don’t get black like the night, you know?”

 

Luccino nods. “More of a grey-ish, silver-y tone, right?”

 

“Yeah!” Vitor shakes his head. “Batman isn’t silver, but if you use blue and, like, press it  _really hard_  it goes dark. I learned that in Art class.”

 

“You know,” Luccino taps the paper. “I actually have a lot of drawings at home. I build and fix bikes and cars, so I need to draw them first–”

 

A tap on the glass door interrupts him. They look up to see Andre shaking her head. She lifts a piece of paper that reads ‘no future’.

 

How was  _that_ a promise of a future?

 

…oh. Right.

 

He grins up at Vitor, who’d looked down and hunching in on himself now. 

 

“Hey, what’s wrong, buddy?” Otávio asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

 

Harder tapping on the glass. Otávio quickly takes his hand away.

 

“You’re not supposed to do that,” Vitor says quietly. “Talk about your home.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sorry. But can you tell us more about your friends at school?”

 

Vitor’s face lights up again. “I have four best friends, but they’re not, like,  _the_  best friend, okay? That’s Matheus, because he sleeps on the top bunk, but he always lets me sleep there when I want to, and..”

 

Vitor spends the next five minutes enthusiastically telling them about the other children in his life. It’s endearing. Luccino would happily sit there for hours and listen to those mundane little stories, which told from that kid’s perspective felt like real adventures.

 

When his eyes meet Otávio’s, he knows it. This is his calling. Otávio was a natural, and Vitor was born to be his son. 

 

This was also a moment of clarity for Luccino about himself. This was real. This was serious. He was all in. He’d keep his promise and do everything in his power to make sure Otávio would get full custody of that child. 


End file.
